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Havn't been on here for a long while now. I came on just now and I hardly recognise anyone's screen name, just lalayla and thelifeofriley!! I must of missed alot! How is everyone and their pooches? Todd is growing up to be a beautiful,beautiful dog and quite well-behaved(most of the time!) For those of you who know Todd or are interested you can see some photos of him here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/22748160@N00/ Riley...Are you still getting your new pup??

Hi, Nice to meet you. I joined this site back in June. When I first say your name I didn't recognize it and I thought Troll. We've been having some cruel people coming to this site causing trouble everyday this week. He's a picture of one of my newest addition to the family. http://www.dogster.com/?224179

I didn't know that Flat Coated Retrievers came in that color! He is just adorable.

Now that you've had him for awhile, can you answer a question for me? How is he as a family dog? Does he need a lot of exercise? Is he quiet indoors? Is he smart? How trainable? Do you hunt him? If not, do you think he misses it?

The reason for all of these questions is that some of the web information on these dogs seems to indicate that they are only so-so house dogs, that they NEED to hunt.

Sure, I would love to answer some questions for you! Todd is also on http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/flatcoatedretriever.htm. Those photos were when he was very little; just adorable!! Flatcoats come in black and liver. However, black is quite alot more common. He is 7 months old and so far he has been very laid-back, calm and a pleasure to live with! He is from strong working lines over here in England. His mum and dad go hunting every season, as did his grandparents, great-grandparents and so on. He is very predictable in his temperament and has a very level head. He is great with my little cousin, you can see alot of pictures on my flickr photo album (which is posted in my top post). He absolutely ADORES people with a passion : everybody is greeted with an enthusiastic tail and plently of licking!!No exception. And DOGS!! He loves dogs: all shapes, sizes and colours. Flatcoats have sufficient exercise running around the house and playing in the garden up until they are 6 months, as too much road walking can damage soft bones and joints. They shouldn't have too much free running until they are a year or so. At the minute, we usually take him to the field behind me for around 25 minute off lead exercise. During this time he is off lead and sniffs, runs, jumps in puddles: being a typical flatcoat! I do a little bit of training such as stays, recall, heel, down at a distance and more.He is such a quick learner and he knew more than my friend's 2 year old dog when he was 10 weeks!! Once fully grown a flatcoat can take as much exercise as you can give them!! Maybe two one hour walks a day; if this suits your lifestyle. Since we got him at 8 weeks, he has barked once...at a black furry blanket!! Haven't heard a peep from him since. As a breed, they should not be heard because they are a gundog. If they bark, it can scare the game away. He is extremely smart and only takes him a minute or so for him to aknowledge what I want of him. He catches on very quickly. He always wants to be doing things together and is an absolute pleasure to train. He is so responsive and tuned in to me. He has a great retrieving instinct which is great because I do want to do some hunting with him, as that is what he is bred to do, and I know he will thoroughly enjoy it!! I think if I decided not to go hunting with him, he wouldn't miss as such, he would just be looking for more fun things to do with me!!:-)More recent activities for this breed have included Obedience, Agility, Working Trials (not to be confused with Working Tests), Search and Rescue, Assistance Dogs for the Disabled, and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. The Breed is generally considered too lively to be a Guide Dog for the Blind. Flatcoats are happy when they are doing things (anything!) with their owners and love nothing more than spending time with you!:) Sorry this is SUCH a long post, but if you would like any more information, then don't hesitate to post a message on here. If you would like to me to post some website links for more info on flatcoats then I will, happily :)! Hope that helps you a bit!

lpn: I've been keeping well thank you. How are you? Yeah, I do remember you! lol Sorry I was just naming people who were logged on at the time when I signed in.